The rampant Adelaide Strikers maintained their perfect start to KFC BBL|12 with a six-wicket win over Sydney Thunder at Adelaide Oval, thanks to another Matt Short masterclass. Short (65) was reserved at first before exploding after the powerplay to propel the ladder-leading Strikers past the Thunder’s 5-150 with eight deliveries to spare and to a 3-0 record.
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Strikers beat Thunders by 6 Runs to go 3-0
Short, this season’s leading runscorer, opened his shoulders and blasted five sixes in his scintillating 44-ball knock after Jake Weatherald (seven) left early. Short, who was also economical with the ball (0-13 off three overs), took to Daniel Sams’ deliveries and dominated an 83-run second-wicket stand with Chris Lynn (28), who was cast in the unlikely role of second fiddle.
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Nathan McAndrew (2-25) delivered superb yorkers to both men, disrupting Lynn’s castle and trapping Short in front before English import Adam Hose (28no) came in and finished the job. Earlier, after recovering from an early Alex Hales onslaught, the Strikers bowlers put their team in a strong position.
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The English master blaster led the way with 68 points but was held in check after crunching 36 of the Thunder’s 39 powerplay runs. The Adelaide crowd erupted in applause in the third over when the Thunder’s score surpassed the T20 world record low of 15 set against the Strikers on Friday night.
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Hales and young Ollie Davies (42) put on 63 for the third wicket before both fell to Colin de Grandhomme (2-25). The Thunder, whose win-loss record fell to 1-3, we’re aiming for 180 or more after reaching 2-79 at the halfway point before being limited to 3-71, including just three boundaries, in the final ten overs. Henry Thornton took 2-19 on Friday, bringing his season total to 11 wickets at a phenomenal average of 3.82.
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